Rock n Roll Bride - The ultimate guide for alternative brides

Wedding

A Sneak Peek – Emma & Pete got Married…and it was AWESOME!

Kat

March 20, 2011

It's a bit unconventional for me to do two posts on a Sunday, but I just had to pop by and share a few sneak peeks of where I was last night. Emma & Pete got married! The whole wedding was a surprise. We were invited under false pretences (it was also Emma's 30th Birthday) Half way through the night, the couple disappeared, got changed (Emma into a stunning vintage dress from Fur Coat No Knickers) and got married right in front of us. I cried like an actual baby. I can't wait to see the rest of the professional photos from Steve Gerrard & Joanna Brown, but for now...
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N’tima & Steven’s Love Across the Sea

Kat

March 18, 2011

How are your emotions doing today? because I've got a wedding to share that will probably make you blub...there is just so. much. love right here! N'tima & Steven's love blossomed across the sea. The bride explained, "We lived in Okinawa, Japan when we met. He was 16, I was 14. We were kids. We were neighbours. We both were kinda dating people on & off here in America, so we were just friends.You see, my family had orders to be shipped to California in June. It was April, and Steven and I were starting to get close. We exchanged numbers, and everything moved so quickly after this point. Every day before I moved was spent falling in love with this beautiful boy. Although we denied it, and being together was scary to us. Distance obviously hadn't worked previously, so we decided we’d be just friends. Everyone around us knew we were ridiculously in love, but we kept telling each other that we had to stay friends. On May 26, 2008, Steven told me that he loved me, and that he would rather ‘try & fail with us, than not try at all.’ So June 6, 2008, I moved away, and we made the distance work for us. We lived through web-cam dates & 17 hour time differences. I visited November of that year, and April of 2009. By the end of 2009, Steven had joined the air force. He was sent to Basic & we lived through letters for 8 1/2 weeks. I visited for his graduation. He was then sent to Tech school across the country for four more months. I visited for Christmas. In January of 2010 he was sent to live 2 hours away from me here in California, completely by chance. How much luckier could we be, eh?"
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Annette & Chris’ Fancy Dress Victorian Circus Themed Wedding

Kat

March 17, 2011

Annette & Chris had a fancy dress/steampunk themed wedding in Liverpool. The bride wore a corset purchased from Corsets UK and a skirt from MTCoffinzUnderground on Etsy. "My dress wasn't technically a 'dress' as it was a Corset and a separate skirt," the bride told me. "I bought the white and black steel boned corset for around £60 and the skirt, which was described as a 'Victorian Lace Gothic Ball Gown', cost around £100." She also wore Victorian-style black ankle boots which she hired from a fancy dress shop! Chris hired his unique outfit from a fancy dress shop too.
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Marco & Corinne’s Global Folk Art, Home-Spun Wedding

Kat

March 16, 2011

When I received the initial submission email from photographer Pat Dy, dubbing this as his 'coolest ever wedding' I had high expectations...and you know what I'm going to say here don't you?...I certainly wasn't disappointed! Marco & Corinne's home-spun DIY wedding was a real labour of love. The wedding took place at the Groom's parents house and they crafted their wedding mostly from items they already owned. Everything from their outfits to the flowers arrangement were hand made by the couple themselves or a close friend or family member. This created something totally unique and personal. "Our theme was global folk art," Corinne told me. "We just used mostly what we already have lying around our house. We wanted that all the elements were everything we both love. So much heart was put in by family and friends during the 2 months preparation of the wedding. My Mom even handpainted the 150 stones as favours."
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Briana & George’s Antique Wedding

Kat

March 15, 2011

"I like to question everything, so if something at a wedding doesn't have a specific purpose it was out," began the bride Briana. "We didn't have a guestbook, or a garter toss, or a bouquet, or a cake, or a chicken dance...My husband and I both love vintage stuff. We're both silly, dumpster-diving artist types. We would have just eloped, because the idea of a wedding seemed both superfluous and expensive, but we both love a good party! It was a compromise. If I had more than 4 months to plan it and lived in town, I would have handmade everything myself and incorporated tons of quirky details...but it was perfect just the way it was."
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Anna Lee & Jeremy’s Vintage-Inspired DIY Wedding

Kat

March 15, 2011

Anna Lee & Jeremy were engaged and married within 3 1/2 months. After Anna Lee moved away to teach in Rwanda, the couple realised they couldn't live without each other and set a wedding date before she'd even come back. Even though they we're technically already engaged, when Anna Lee returned after 10 months, Jeremy proposed properly and did so in the car park of their favourite restaurant because he couldn't wait one second longer! Anna Lee told me all about their vintage-inspired DIY wedding. "I think I would describe our wedding as DIY vintage and it wouldn’t have been possible to put together a wedding on a budget in 3 months without the help of my awesome family and friends. The only "vendors" we hired were the DJ and photographer. I hit up every craft store, thrift shop, and dollar store in the area. My Mom, sister, and I made everything: the invitations and programs, bridesmaid’s bouquets, boutonnieres, and decorations. I created the mothers wrist corsages out of fabric hair pieces from Forever21. The only flowers used were babies breath, purchased from a local grocery store. Instead of large floral arrangements at the reception, I bought manzanita branches online, spray painted them black, and attached tissue paper flowers and moss. A local landscaping nursery let us borrow two small trees we set up inside to soften the reception hall area. We saved a ton of money on flowers this way!"
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Alison & Aaron’s Riverside Retreat Wedding

Kat

March 14, 2011

Alison & Aaron's beautiful June wedding was held at Rancho Cicada Retreat in Plymouth, CA. The bride wore a gorgeous blue number by Jessica Hinel Designs and shoes by Seychelles. The Groom arrived to the ceremony by in style - by boat - although the bride only heard about this afterwards. The ceremony took place under a chupah that was originally a bedspread that 13 other couples in Aaron's family have gotten married under which made the whole thing even more special. The service was officiated by Alison's brother and Aaron's cousin and they had their closest family and friends create their own blessings in place of the traditional 7 blessings.
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Millet & Hendrick’s Hand Picked, DIY Wedding

Kat

March 10, 2011

Millet & Hendrick's wedding was held at Sonya's Garden Country Bed & Breakfast, Tagaytay City, Philippines. With a sister who's a wedding planner and events stylist, the bride (who is a fashion stylist herself!) was certainly in good hands when it came to creating the perfect day for her and her fiancé. "I followed my instincts and searched all the details," the bride told me when I asked for her main inspiration. "We didn't spend much, but the overall effect was satisfactory to me and my husband. The guests went wild when they were advised that they can take home the centrepieces!"
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Teresa & Mat’s Colourful & Fun, Vegan Wedding

Kat

March 9, 2011

Teresa & Mat had my favourite style of wedding - colourful, fun and not-too-serious. In fact as soon as I saw these gorgeous images a big fat grin spread across my face and I can't wait to share that feeling with you all too. To keep the day personal, the couple were married in Teresa's parent's back garden. The reception was held at Red Brick Theater, Adel, IA. Teresa wore a dress by Amanda Archer whom she found on Etsy. "I found her a year before our wedding, fell in love with her dresses and I could not wait to ask her to make mine," Teresa explained. "There was one problem, she lived in Portland and we lived in Chicago. Amanda was amazing to work with. She sent me swatches of fabric and took my measurements over email. She made the dress in Portland and I waited anxiously at home. About months before the wedding I received an email from Amanda saying they were relocating to Chicago!! It was such an amazing turn of events. A month before the wedding I went to Amanda's studio and tried my dress on. It fit like a glove. I don't know how she made it just perfect for me without even meeting me, she's just that amazing. I also had Amanda make my birdcage veil, an item I am so glad I went with. I love my husband, but I still have a secret crush on my dress."
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Anthony & Stephanie’s Sydney Harbour Wedding

Kat

March 9, 2011

Anthony & Stephanie were married in November in Sydney and had the wonderful and exceptionally talented Jonas Peterson to shoot their wedding. When Jonas emailed me to let me know he had a new wedding to share with me he didn't have to ask me twice if I wanted to blog it or not! Regular readers will know I am a big (massive, enormousness) fan of Jonas and his work so it's an absolute pleasure to feature this gorgeous wedding on these here pages. The ceremony took place at St Peter Chanel ("oh yes I had a designer's name in the title of MY church HA" laughed the bride) in Woolwich, Australia. After the ceremony the guests were treated to a boat ride across the Sydney harbour to Aqua Dining - a restaurant with the quintessential Sydney view - for the reception.
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Amber & Jeff’s Candy Land Wedding

Kat

March 9, 2011

Amber & Jeff were married in Crest Theatre and so their wedding had a pretty theatrical theme! "It has always been a dream of mine to get married at the Crest Theatre and have been going there since I was a kid and my comedy troupe used to perform there so it's always been close to my heart!" Amber told me. " I also have been part of a horror film summer festival for about 10 years and had some of my creative friends from there get involved; such as making the candy shop, the MC is a stand up comedienne friend, I really wanted to get all my creative friends involved!" A lot of the wedding was DIY and the Mother of the bride in particular really got stuck in - she made all the decorations, the decopauged suitcase, the vintage wedding cake toppers and the candy displays. Amber also had a friend who made her candy flower bouquet by melting down different sweets into the shapes of flowers - something she had always dreamed about having.
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Song & Dony’s Mythical Creatures Wedding

Kat

March 8, 2011

Song & Dony were married in October at The Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden. Their wedding had an unusual 'mythical creatures' theme which the couple told me all about. "The wedding theme was mythical creatures as two mythical creatures to decide mate for life. Song made all the invitations, ring pillow, mythical creature themed decorations, tissue paper pom poms and mythical creature brooches that were for wedding parties."
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Cazz & Liam’s Comic Book Geekery Wedding

Kat

March 8, 2011

"Everyone said for me to wear white would be the shocking thing" the bride, Cazz, told me. "My dream was to look like a cupcake. A big pink cupcake. It had to be pink, black and with polka dots. My dress was purchased off eBay for $40. It was a used costume from Buddy Holly the musical! One of my lovely maids of honour altered it for me and added my dream large black bow." I think that Cazz's dress might have helped to set the whole theme for her awesome wedding to Liam - a big pink cupcake of a wedding! Cazz wore shoes with cupcakes (and skulls!) on them and as well as a slightly more traditional tiered cake, which was gift, they had...you guessed it...cupcakes!
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Debbie & Jamie’s Tattoo Themed Rockabilly Wedding

Kat

March 7, 2011

Oh Debbie & Jamie how I heart thee! This Belfast couple had their very own rockabilly wedding at Belfast City Hall, followed by a suitability rockin' reception at The Printers Café. "My name is Debbie and I run a vintage nail salon in Belfast called Dazzle Me With Your Tips," the bride emailed me. "In my spare time I sell vintage clothes, accessories and homewares at vintage fairs and arts and crafts markets and also work as a stylist with several photographers. Jamie my now husband is a Maintenance Manager for a cleaning services company and his passions outside of the 9 to 5 are Skating, and BMX and Metal Sculpture. We both love getting inked going to rockabilly nights and festivals and most of all touring around Ireland in our beloved VW camper van Burt with our daughter Ellie." I loved them already.
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Serena & Brent’s Day of the Dead/Hello Kitty Themed Wedding

Kat

March 4, 2011

A Day of the Dead and a Hello Kitty themed wedding?! Could Serena & Brent's wedding be more perfect for Rock n Roll Bride if it tried?! The bad news is that I don't have any further info on the wedding, but they photos were just too awesome to not share and I'm sure you can get some awesome DIY ideas just by looking at what they created. I am literally dying over the Hello Kitty in the bouquet and her Tarina Tarantino jewellery. Classic bridal style?! Screw that!
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Margaret & Edi’s INCREDIBLE “Blows-Everything-Else-Out-of-the-Water” Gothic Alice in Wonderland Wedding

Kat

March 3, 2011

Yeah...so...um...speechless. .... Seriously people! get a load of this sheeeeeit. OK OK let me get myself together for a second.... Margaret sent me a sneak peek to her incredible wedding to Edi back in October and I had to wait until this week to see the rest of them. Do you know how hard that has been for me?! I actually teased the above photo on Twitter the other day and someone replied asking if it was a photograph of heaven...that's a pretty accurate assumption I think! The couple were legally married at Edi's parent's house and the reception took place in the fairytale setting of The Bali Room in the Kempinski Hotel, Jakarta and Margaret told me all about it. "Our theme was Alice in Wonderland. I picked Alice for my theme, because I've loved it since I was a little kid and because my Mom's name is Alice. The main colour was dark purple because purple represents magical and darkness in the same time. its so glamorous! Our family members wore purple shade outfits."
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Tara & Travis’ Denim & Diamonds Wedding at The Burning Man Festival

Kat

March 2, 2011

Tara & Travis met at The Burning Man festival in 2007, so where better than to be wed than the very festival that brought them together? The ceremony, which they wrote themselves, took place under the Bliss dance statue in the middle festival and was performed by a close friend of the couple. The theme for the wedding was Denim and Diamonds/Cowboy Chic. The couple did everything themselves and due to the festival location, had very laid back attitude to the 'formalities' of a wedding, "We had a good old fashioned BBQ for everyone - no one was turned away" they explained.
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Heather & David’s Whimsical & Wonderful New Orleans Wedding

Kat

March 2, 2011

There was one thing that struck me in particular when I laid eyes on Heather & David's New Orleans wedding...Heather's incredible dress! She bought it from Natural Bridals on etsy and had it custom altered to make it perfect for her. She wore it with striped tights (rad!) and incredible orange boots. In fact their own wedding was a whimsical and wonderful mishmash of Rock n Roll fabulousness! Heather explained, "We wanted to throw a wedding that was going to stand out from the other weddings that people would be attending throughout the year. Our goal was to get a reaction out of our guests. Cool! Um, interesting. Wow, fun! Very whimsical. Those were the target reactions… anything, but, nice (blah). We did almost everything a little strangely which caused a LOT of extra planning and negotiating with vendors. Most vendors in the city of New Orleans (and other cities I am sure) are bogged down with traditions and preset packages. We found that the vendors that were excited about a challenge were the ones for us."
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